Wedding Rings
by vanilla burry
Summary: a short love story told in four parts -Danny
1. from yes to no

**author's note: **a short love story told in four parts

**Wedding Rings**: from yes to no

* * *

She would be ok, he was sure of it.

Sam wasn't like other girls. He knew that from the beginning.

She was loud and strong. She liked to get dirty and wear dark, loose clothes that hid her figure. And Danny liked that about her. He liked how _real_ Sam was, how he always knew what she was thinking and that when she said something, it was always the truth. No question.

He'd put his life in Sam's hands and he knew she would put hers in his. They always seemed to be on the same page, their thoughts always one step ahead of the other.

But today, years later with similar golden rings in open palms and with Sam bouncing on her heels, and him swallowing the lump in his throat every other word or so, Danny can't help but think maybe this wasn't such a good idea and maybe Sam lied when she accepted the engagement ring, three months months prior. His eyes move to her belly. She isn't showing much, for her the dress is rather conservative, but he can see the soft outline of her slightly round stomach.

Sam purses her lips as the minster drones. He speaks of death and of love and of trouble and sorrows, and finally of forever. Danny knows he could spend his life with Sam by his side. But Sam's looking anywhere but at him and her eyes are wide and nervous like a startled deer in the path of a drunk driver. Small beats of sweat rest on her forehead and her cheeks flush. He catches her eye and mouths the single word that will set her free.

_'Go.' _

The minister continues on as if nothing had happened between the two and that they were nothing more the crazy, wasted kids with the marriage permit and the church fees that had begged him to marry them a month before. So he keeps rambling, his eyes closed and his voice dry and hoarse and he doesn't notice Sam slip from the altar or sees her shake the heeled shoes from her feet. She lifts the hem of the long white dress she fought with her mother over and Danny catches the barest hints of tears in her eyes. He watches with a sad smile as she darts down the isle and out the long wooden doors and doesn't look back.


	2. time out

**Wedding Rings:** time out

* * *

A million miles later or that's how it feels to her and Sam is heaving heavy breaths in nothing more than her underwear. She hunkers herself deep down into the covers that Danny and her had shared on many a night. The apartment's a mess of scattered clothes and papers, books and suitcases. Beside the bed lays a small purple bag which she'd started to pack. But she's tired from the day, from the grooming session with her mother and the long-ass murmurings of her father, and their rude remarks on Danny and his family. She plays with the golden engagement ring and rolls it between her fingers. Engraved on the inside are three letters. A '_S_' and an '_A_' and finally a '_M_.' She touches her finger to the name and feels the smooth surface of the ring and the rough cutting of the engraved letters.

"For you," she remembers him saying three months prior over many empty glasses of a classy red wine she'd stolen from her father's cabinet, "It's been waiting for you a long time."

"So it has," she remembered replying, her face blushing at the letters of her name. And she remembered jumping him and pulling the long buttoned down collar from his neck with her teeth. He'd never done it before, but she had. She was careful with him, gentle, but he still bled. She kissed his face and pressed her tongue to his throat and slowly worked her way down his pale, frightened body. And then she'd allowed him to slip the ring on her naked finger as he proposed naked in bed the following morning.

* * *

**author's note: ** Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I really appreciate it! Guest, you practically melted me heart: "He better take off after her, even if they don't marry, he better not let her out of his life."


	3. she leaves him, he brings coffee

**Wedding Rings: **she leaves him, he brings coffee

* * *

It's just about midnight and Danny's hovering just above the balcony of the apartment. Sam stands in the doorway and watches him slowly descend onto the balcony below him. In hand he holds two Styrofoam cups with the same green coffeehouse insignia on either side.

"Double vegan mocha with soy milk," he grins, offering her the drink as he transforms back into regular Danny Fenton. Danny's grown, but only another foot or so. Sam still holds three inches over him and she doesn't let him forget it. He looks older though. He's grown soft, black stubble around his chin and a little around his lip. His eyes are darker and the skin around them is slightly purple and wrinkled. He takes his own cup, and Sam can practically smell the artificial sugars and the pumpkin flavoring of Danny's favorite autumn treat. She asks, for the first time, "May I taste it?"

This catches Danny by surprise and though he hands her the cup, he warns, "It's not vegan. There's cow in there, I think." And Sam snorts at the remark and sips the steaming liquid and it tastes strong and very, sickly sweet but that's how Danny's always liked his things, sweet.

_So why me?_ She couldn't help but wonder and the estranged thought catches her by surprise. _I'm not sweet in the slightest. And after today, I'm leaning more towards absolutely rotten._

"How's it taste?"

"Like sugar and nothing else."

"Perfect," he grins and swipes the cup back from her. He takes a long sip that drains about half the cup, then pulls a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lights one.

"I thought you quit."

"I _did_. It's a hobby now," he bluffs, "I only smoke when I'm…uh…"

"Stressed."

"Yeah…_that_."

She sighs and crosses her arms. The chilly air takes her breath and makes a soft white whisp. "It-it's because of me, isn't it?"

"No. Not all of it."

"We rushed into it."

"We did," he agrees. He doesn't look at her when he says it. Sam watches as he alternates between taking a drag and a sipping the lukewarm coffee he's balanced on the edge of the balcony. Sam drinks from her own cup and sighs, content with the drink, "Just right."

"I've had a lot of practice."

"I can smell moo milk a mile away."

Danny chuckled, "That you can. The barista had to make the drink five times over, I thought she was gonna rip my head off."

"You could've taken her."

"It was Paulina."

"No way."

"Yes way. I took a picture." And once Danny pulled out his phone and the two confirmed that it was a slightly plump, pimply Paulina, Sam allows herself to sneak a grin.

"You are such an ass. That's photographic evidence. You could use it for evil if you really wanted to."

"I know."

"She deserves it though, after all the shit she put us through back in Amity."

"Maybe."

"..."

"..."

"How can you be so calm?" she asks after the a short silence comes between them. He's standing there with his back against the balcony's handrail. His eyes are closed and his lips are parted as he carefully breathes the smoke from his lungs. The cool air dances around the smoke, making it more visible in the autumn air. She'd wanted a Halloween wedding and she'd almost had one.

"I don't know. It just feels right."

"To let people walk all over you…?"

"What do you mean," he deadpans. It's not a question though. They both know what she's asking.

"Why did you let me leave, Danny? That must have been embarrassing. The bride leaving her groom at the altar and all…" He stops for a moment and thinks. He drops the butt of his cigarette and stomps out the small flicker of the flame. Finally he breathes a heavy sigh and says, "If you love something or some_one_ enough you set it free, right?"

"Danny, _really_…"

The twenty-four year old half-ghost shrugged. He was hurt, she could see it in the way his shoulders hunched his eyes and corners of his lips drooped. But he also accepted it. And he didn't hate her for it. And that was what bothered her. He should hate her, yet he didn't. He could never hate her and she knew that, and it bothered her, because that was what she deserved and yet, he let her off easy.

"Why aren't you angry?"

"I'm frustrated. Does that count?"

"But not angry."

"No."

"What did my parents say?"

"They said 'I told you so' and did a little jig in the isle."

"You're kidding."

"Your dad was quite drunk."

"Oh." She steps from the doorway and stands beside him, still dressed in nothing more than her underclothes. The air is very cool and the Danny's body is colder than ever.

"Aren't you cold," he asks, and for a frightening moment, she's afraid he'll offer the jacket around his shoulders, but thankfully he doesn't. Danny's always understood her boundaries. And that was one of things she loved about him.

"No." She presses her lips to his cheek, and soft tears gently run down her cheeks and puddle at her chin.

"I'm sorry," she says and he nods and accepts it, but says nothing. Together they stand and watch the starless sky above them. She repeats her apology once more and an hour later he takes to the sky and doesn't return.

* * *

**author's note: **There will be quite the time skip next chapter.


End file.
